A tulou, or "earthen building", is a traditional communal residence in the Fujian province of Southern China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine. These vernacular structures were occupied by clan groups.

Most large-scale tulou seen today were built of a composite of earth, sand, and lime known as sanhetu rather than just earth. The tulou is often three to four stories high. Often they would store food on the higher floors.

The famous Fujian Tulou, designated as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008, is a small and specialized subgroup of tulou, and are known for their unique shape, large scale, and ingenious structure. There are more than 20,000 tulou in southern Fujian. Approximately 3,000 of them are Fujian Tulou, that is 15% of tulou belongs to Fujian Tulou category.

Activity:After breakfast, start your one day city tour to Gulangyu Island, South Putuo Temple, as well as Hulishan Fort after lunch.

Gulangyu Island covers an area of 1.87 square kilometers. Sunlight Rock, the highest peak on the islet, is the symbol of Xiamen. On the islet, tourists can find the winding coastal lines, natural and gentle seaside bathing grounds with the fine sands, and oddly shaped reefs. The whole islet offers a clean, tidy and tranquil environment.

Lying at the foot of Wulao Peak in the south of Xiamen Island, South Putuo Temple is a famous temple in China. The temple backs on to a group of exquisite peaks and is adjacent to Xiamen University. The temple was first constructed in the Tang Dynasty, and was destroyed many times in the following dynasties. In the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt again. The Puji Temple on the Putuo Mountain in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province mainly worships Goddess of Mercy, so dose this temple.

The Hulishan Fort was first constructed in the 20th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, with an area of over 70,000 square meters. The auxiliary equipments include the eastern and western platforms to protect the fort, tunnels, ammunition depot, barracks, residence of officers and observation tower at the hilltop. The semi-bunker and semi-wall fort shows the European style, as well as the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The cannon, known as the King of Cannons, was purchased from the Krupp Munitions Plant in Germany. It is the oldest and largest coastal cannon on the original site in the world, and was included in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records.

Sightseeing:Gulangyu Island, South Putuo Temple, Hulishan Fort.

Hotel: Ximen Meals: Dinner

Gulangyu Island

South Putuo Temple

Hulishan Fort

¡¡Day 3 ¡¡Xiamen- Nanjing - Yongding

Activity:Drive from Xiamen City to Nanjing County, today, you will have chance to visit the famous Tuluo in Snail Pit and also a short trip to Huaiyuan Building and Hegui Building, the representatives of the round building and square building in the area.

Tulou, building made up by earth, is a unique and mysterious Hakka architecture with a thick earth wall enclosure found only in the mountainous areas in southwestern Fujian province in Southern China. Tulou is usually an enclosed building, mostly square or circular in configuration, with a very thick earth wall which is up to 6 feet thick and wooden skeletons, from three to five stories high, housing up to 80 families. These earth buildings have only one entrance, guarded by 4-5 inch thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth building have gun holes for defence against bandits. What is amazing about these earth buildings is the fact that in spite of the earth wall, some of them are more than 700 years old, surviving through centuries of natural elements, including earth quakes, yet still standing solid.

Sightseeing:Nanjing Tulou.

Hotel: Yongding Meals: Dinner

Nanjing Tulou

Nanjing Tulou

Nanjing Tulou

¡¡Day 4 ¡¡Yongding - Xiamen

Activity:Today, start you Tulou exploration by visiting the World Cultural Heritage Site - Yongding Hakka Tulou which is also known as Hongkeng Hakla Tulou. Hongkeng Tulou Cluster boasts of over 40 tulou buildings different in shape and size, circular, square, rectangular, crescent and with some variations. The magnificent buildings you will visit including Zhengcheng Building - prince of Tulou Building, Kuiju Building ¨C a tulou building with Potala Palace style, Rusheng Building ¨C the minimum size tulou building. When finish this Tulou tour, be transferred back to Xiamen.

Zhenchenglou, nicknamed ¡®the prince of tulou' was built in 1912 by the descendents of a rich tobacco merchant. Zhencheng Tulou Building is a double ring tulou, its outer ring is 4 stories high, total 184 rooms, the inner ring is 2 stories with 32 rooms.

One of the earlier Hakka buildings (1834), Kujiulou is in the less common square style as opposed to the traditional round or circular style. the structure of this Tulou is looked like the famous Potala Palace style.

Rushenglou is the minimum size tulou building among the Hakka Tulou in Fujian, The smallest of the Hakka style buildings with only one level and 16 rooms.